Local residents find benefits in dropping phone landlines

That's the reason she ditched her landline and opted to use her cell as her primary means of phone communication.

Her children live out of the state, except for one, who lives in York, which is a long-distance call from her home in Mount Wolf.

"It didn't make sense for us to keep the landline and pay all these phones bills," said Scheulke, who estimated she saved about $50 per month by making the change.

As of December, 255.4 million people in the country subscribed to wireless plans using about 2.1 trillion minutes of air time, and more and more people are dropping landlines altogether, according to data from CTIA, the International Association for Wireless Telecommunications.

Close to 16 percent of all households in the country were completely wireless at the end of 2007. That's up from 8.4 percent in 2005, according to CTIA.

Kim Quigley of York gave up her landline more than five years ago.

"It was a pretty easy choice," she said. "I didn't need to use the phone at home as soon as cell service started to become so common.

"(The landline) just seemed totally useless and outdated."

Andrew and Cori Beaverson cut the cord six years ago.

The Lewisberry residents didn't want to pay bills for the landline when they relied so heavily on their cell phones.

Not the right fit for everyone

Going wireless requires some thought, said Ellen Webner, a spokeswoman for AT&T.

Contact us

The business staff is looking for people who would be interested in serving on a reader panel to test a few different cell phones. If you are interested and would like to be considered for the panel, e-mail staff writer Jessica Milcetich at jmilcetich@ydr.com. Include your name, age, municipality, occupation and why you would like to participate.

Online

Have you dropped your landline in exchange for cell phone service? See what other people have to say about this topic on The Exchange.

Quick tip on cell phone etiquette

It's pretty obvious that it's rude to talk on your cell phone, or even have it ring, in the movie theater, but it can be just as disruptive to others if you text in the theater because of the light shining from your phone.

Back to school

Many of the local school districts have specific policies about cell phone use on school property and at school-sanctioned events. In most cases, cell phone use is only permitted if a student has special permission for a medical reason. Other exceptions sometimes include students who are volunteer firefighters or part of an ambulance corp.

If you have questions, most school districts post their policies online. Visit the Education section of inyork.com/ydr to find links to your school district.

Cost of different plans

Cell phone plans vary in cost depending on the service and features you have. Through Verizon Wireless for example, the most basic individual plan costs $39.99 per month for 450 minutes, while the premium plan, with unlimited minutes and texting, navigation and other features, costs $139.99 per month. AT&T offers similar plans with minutes, and text messaging and other features can be added for an additional monthly fee. At Sprint, the monthly bill is based on the number of minutes and text messages or other features you need.

If you're not looking to sign a yearly contract, some stores, such as Wal-Mart, carry prepaid cell phones where you purchase more minutes as you need them. These phones cost $20 or more depending on the model and the cost of minutes varies depending on the provider.